Pulsating Massive Star: Phase Transitions in Superdense Matter

TL;DR

This paper explores how phase transitions and scalar fields in superdense matter can lead to pulsating star models that avoid singularities during gravitational collapse.

Contribution

It introduces a novel model of pulsating massive stars incorporating phase transitions and pseudomatter, preventing collapse singularities.

Findings

Pulsation dynamics without singularities in collapsing stars

Role of scalar fields in breaking energy conditions

Continuity conditions induce pseudomatter formation

Abstract

In the case of the energy-momentum tensor related to "ordinary" matter (perfect fluid representing spin 1/2 and 1 fields), the equations of general relativity result in cosmological and gravitational collapse singularities--due to the fulfilment of both the strong and weak energy conditions. According to great unified theories, in superdense matter (both hot and cold), phase transitions take place, symmetry between the strong and electroweak interactions is restored/broken, and a scalar field is created/annihilated. In the scalar field regime, the strong energy condition is broken, but the weak one holds. However, the continuity condition for the pressure on the surface of a contracting star results in the occurrence of a compensating pseudomatter field, for which both energy conditions are broken. On this basis, for a massive star predisposed to a gravitational collapse, a pulsation dynamics with no singularity is constructed.